


The Witch of the Forest

by ThatDamnKennedyKid



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Female Obi-Wan Kenobi, Protective Obi-Wan, Rule 63
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-04
Updated: 2018-01-03
Packaged: 2019-02-27 16:56:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13252572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatDamnKennedyKid/pseuds/ThatDamnKennedyKid
Summary: When Obi-Wan left, she took most of the 501st and 212th with her and vanished with a starcruiser into the stars. That was nearly four years ago now, but something changed not only in the Jedi, but with the Republic itself. The Senators, and the Chancellor especially, are edgy and nervous; the Council is weary and strained; the Clones are defecting left and right, only leaving the vague rumour of "the lady of the forest" and "finally finding peace".With the war's escalation on the rise, it's Anakin and Ahsoka's job to retrieve not only the clones, but the wayward Master.





	The Witch of the Forest

_"She's gone."_

He remembers the words as if they're freshly said and he still doesn't like them any more. What bothered him the most was the stricken look on Cody's face, the way he'd so rapidly tried to hide it, the way Rex shared a sympathetic look with him.

 _"Master, what do we do?"_ Ahsoka had asked. He had turned, walked toward the Temple to report the news. 

Four years, almost to the Standard day, and Obi-Wan had not so much as commed. No one knew whether she had been kidnapped, stolen, killed or simply left. Perhaps the options would have been less clear had damn near all of the 501st and 212th not gone with her. 

_"Call it a courtesy." Rex explained, holding the tablet with the explanation note on it. "A brother would never go without letting his brothers know. Especially not on a scale like this. Not to mention Echo would feel too guilty."_

Four years, and all the fight was gone from him. It was exhausting, this war, his eternal struggle with the Council, his secret with Padme. What remained of the clone battalions she'd raided were shoved together, blue and yellow without exception, and given over to Anakin's command. 

"We've got new orders, Master." Ahsoka said softly, approaching him on the bridge of the  _Endurance_. At least, when Obi-Wan had taken their world, she'd had the grace to take the  _Negotiator_ , something that actually belonged to her. 

"What are they, Snips?"

"There's been reports of clones, 501st men, on the forest planet of Aurelias."

He closed his eyes with a terse nod. "A forest planet?"

She hummed. "Yup. Thick woodland with dense canopies."

"Denser than Endor's moon?"

"The underbrush is less, almost non-existent, according to the locals. It makes it almost impossible to see at night there, though."

"I see. Ready the men. We'll head there immediately."

"Right away, Master."

Ahsoka turned and left, but it wasn't very long until Rex filled her spot. 

"Sir, with all due respect, are you sure this is a good idea?" He asked, tentative as he always was when he thought his words wouldn't be received well. 

"Of course, Rex. Why wouldn't it be?" There was too much aggression in his voice and he knew it, knew Rex knew it. 

"I just think that, perhaps, the landing party should be clone-based?"

"I will not send you down there without me. I know the dossier says the planet is peaceful with little to no predator wildlife, but who knows what she'd done down there, who else might be looking for her."

Rex really did flinch then. "You think she would have done something to the brothers?"

"She might have. I can't think of any other way she would have been able to get all of them to come with her." He scowled back out at the blue streaks of hyperspace. 

"As you command, sir."

* * *

As the mission dossier reported, the planet itself was calm and quiet. The locals allowed them space to land their ships, what little of it they could clear, and offered them shelter and guidance. 

"They came in, looking for a specific type of seed." The mayor of the settlement explained. "They were not in your armour, not entirely, but there were five of them with the same face."

Rex and Cody murmured something uncomfortably in Mando'a. 

"Can you show us which way they went?"

He nodded, pointing out into the darker reaches of the woods. 

"I don't suggest you follow them. The Witch lives there."

"The Witch?" One of the shinies asked, unable to control himself just yet.

"Brace." Rex warned. Brace ducked his head, chastised. 

"What does she look like?" Anakin asked. 

"A little shorter than you, with pale skin and bright eyes. She is wrapped in a dark cloak, grey like the forest at dusk. She makes the forest strange, has since she came, and we can always tell when she comes by."

"Has she hurt you?"

"No, no. But she can trick you, make you feel and think things that are not your own." The mayor warned. 

"I told you." Anakin snapped.

"Thank you for all your help." Ahsoka said, suppressing the need to cringe away from Anakin's anger. 

"Be safe, Jedi." The mayor bowed. The Padawan hurried after her master. 

"I told you she did something, Ahsoka." He hissed, darkness tainting his presence in the Force. Ahsoka didn't like it and the clones around him, save Rex, got uncomfortable rapidly. 

"You don't know that."

"What else could it be?" He snarled. "Get the men. We're going to find the Witch."

"You're not seriously going to refer to her as 'the Witch', are you?" She rolled her eyes. "Master Kenobi didn't actually do anything  _bad_ when she left. And leaving isn't against the law or anything."

He violently gnashed his teeth. "She forced the clones to desert with her. It's not right."

"Ever consider that they went willingly?" She retorted, noticing the clones' stillness a second too late. 

Anakin stormed off without a response. 

* * *

The forest itself was charming. Little animals scuttled about, unafraid and busy with their own lives. The locals were vegetarian, and with no natural predators, these little creatures would have nothing to fear under normal circumstances. 

The calm was unnatural. 

As soon as they walked into it, the animals that once would have skittered away simply looked up at them, a chipmunk-like creature even crawling off a branch onto Rex's shoulder plate to ride along with him. It immediately put Anakin on edge, his presence souring the feeling some. The clones, though no less vigilant, were evidently swayed by the feeling. 

"It feels just like the General used to after she'd slept." Cody commented quietly to Rex, who nodded in agreement. Any clone who's been in the 212th knew the sensation of Kenobi's Force-touch, the sweet way she would cradle their mind to soothe away the battle nightmares that kept she herself awake. Cody, particularly, had intimately known her presence, could feel her approach. 

The lack of underbrush helped them move about. As they entered darker and darker parts of the forest, the Force-feeling grew stronger and stronger, potent in the air like perfume. 

"I can practically taste her." Ahsoka commented, voice low as to not break the silence that had settled around them. The chipmunk on Rex's shoulder was now snoozing, wrapped snugly around his neck. Brace was holding a little rabbit in the palm of his hand, one gently nosing his fingers playfully. 

"So can I." Anakin returned, looking around. "Eyes sharp. There has to be a place she's hiding."

"Hiding, you say?"

The entire platoon froze, Anakin's lightsaber whirring to life. 

"That's her voice." Cody confirmed. 

"What brings you out here, Anakin?" Her voice seemed to be coming from everywhere. 

"I came for you." He called back, anger tinting his voice. "I've come to take the clones back."

"If the brothers wanted to return, there is nothing stopping them, much as there is nothing stopping you." She replied, still hidden from view. 

"Master, why did you go?" Ahsoka, ever more tactful, asked. 

From somewhere in the trees, she sighed heavily. "There were many reasons. The growing fear from the Senators, the Chancellor's meddling and secrets, the Council's unwillingness to take possession of the clones' rights, the clones' treatment."

"Wanting to abandon your responsibility to the Republic?" Anakin snapped. 

"Of course not." Cody and Rex, walking side by side, spun around to point their blasters at the grey-cloaked hermit behind them. Her bright blue eyes gazed back out at them, her small body the epicentre of the peaceful feeling. "If anything, I delayed its ending."

"What the hell does that mean?" Anakin hissed. 

With all of her usual grace, she held out her hand, unfurling it to show the little chip hidden inside. "This is the compulsion chip that is buried in the flesh of a brother's mind. It is there so that, when they are given a specific order, they will have no choice but to comply."

"Huh?" Ahsoka sputtered. 

"This chip was from you, Captain Rex." She held it out to him. "I kept it, as a reminder. I extracted it when you got that hemorrhage on Te-Fyr."

"What was it supposed to compel me to do?" Rex asked, taking the little chip from her. 

"To kill the Jedi."

All of the present clones stiffened. 

"Indeed, gentlemen. Order 66 was its objective. It says in your manual that it is for  _when_ the Jedi turn on the Republic. No one involved was ever intended to make it through the war - not the Jedi, not the Clones, not the Separatists. The Chancellor had that all worked out."

Anakin's presence soured again. "That's a pretty heavy implication."

"You were his target." She replied, pulling back her hood. Her hair uncoiled, all copper strands extending now to her waist. It made her look younger, like Cody remembered her when it all started, and gave her back the innocence and love the war took from her. 

"His target for what? I'm sick of all your damned riddles, Obi-Wan!"

"The Chancellor is a Sith Lord, Anakin." She snapped back, eyes growing dark with conflict recalled. "He's been waiting, working to get you to distrust not only me and your Padawan, but the Council, the Senate, even your own wife."

Anakin grew pale and Ahsoka snapped around. 

"What?!" The Padawan cried. The clones around them shifted uncomfortably. 

"Yes, Senator Amidala. I felt her pregnancy during my last meditation. Congratulations are in order, but you'll have to relay them to her for me, I'm afraid."

"We didn't come here for me, Ahsoka." Anakin deflected. "Explain yourself, Master."

"I already did. I left in order to have some distance, to see the bigger picture. That granted me clarity, clarity I have honed and expanded in the years since. While not able to control it, clones are still Force-aware beings. It was Waxer and Boil who found me readying to leave. From there, it snowballed. I had only intended on taking a few key things before disappearing. I think it turned out better this way."

"How? You singlehandedly crippled the 501st and 212th and left me with a mess! You abandoned everybody who believed in you, who were depending, relying on you and left them to rot. How is that better?"

"You're not with the Chancellor right now, are you?" She intoned, cocking her head. "You've dedicated your time to finding me, to protecting your remaining men, to assisting Padme. You've had no room in your mind for the Chancellor's forked tongue and none in your heart. Not to mention the political shakeup caused by not only my absence, but the en-masse defection of their army. I'm aware that conditions for them have improved and Generals, both Jedi and GAR, are monitored more closely than before for abuse. My move left everyone nervous, unsure who to trust or what would happen. It bought me and the Republic time. It gave the brothers who looked to be for protection a home." She looked off to the side, a wistful twist to her lips. "It gave me a chance to finally be a Jedi, as we are meant to be."

"Please show me." Rex said, then caught himself, like it came out without his permission.

She met his gaze again with a proper smile. "Of course, Rex." She cupped his cheek and his knees almost gave out. The warmth that rushed him was intoxicating, the affection almost overwhelming. 

* * *

Obi-Wan's steps were light, her robe like liquid as it fluttered in her wake, passing over the ground as though it was nothing. 

Rex and Cody followed her without question, their guns put away. The other clones followed out of habit. Ahsoka and Anakin were last, the Knight looking about himself warily, as though waiting for a trap to go off that hadn't.

"Why are you so on edge?" Ahsoka whispered, nudging him. 

"It's too peaceful here. It's not right."

"And it remains one of the greatest burdens on my heart that peace such as this is so foreign as to be unnatural to you." Obi-Wan said from the front, weaving beautifully through the sprawling roots. 

"You lost the right to listen in when you ran away from your problems." Anakin snapped back. 

"Are you upset I left or that I did not take you with me?" She hummed in return. Ahsoka pursed her lips, looking away. Anakin scowled unhappily, but said nothing else. 

The walk was not an especially long one. The clones they were with didn't even seem to notice the time passing them by, the encroaching darkness of the forest taking over the world around them. It made Anakin more and more uneasy, like he was walking into a manifestation of the Dark Side. 

They approached the foot of a mountain, covered in mosses and vines. Obi-Wan gestured mildly at a section of vine and a gateway opened up, nearly blinding light spilling out onto the forest floor. 

"It changes from dirt to grass here, so do be careful of your step until your eyes adjust." She warned, placid and tempered as ever. She entered first.

Cody and Rex followed her without a word or any ounce of hesitation. The shinies with them looked nervously amongst each other before looking back at the Jedi. 

"General?" Brace asked. 

"We came here to find the missing battalions and I'll be damned if I leave without them." Anakin muttered, marching into the light. Ahsoka shrugged and followed, the clones trailing after them.


End file.
